Indian industries to accelerate energy efficiency investments to achieve Net-Zero targets

June 15, 2022 4:36 pm

A new survey commissioned by ABB highlights the current and future plans of Indian companies to invest in energy efficiency to achieve net-zero targets.

According to the Energy Efficiency Investment Survey 2022 commissioned by ABB, 32% of the companies are planning to make energy efficiency improvements this year, and 7 in 10 companies are upgrading their equipment to best-in-class energy efficiency ratings. Half of those investing or planning their investments in energy efficiency cited production as their high-priority area for investment, followed by facilities, including building management, HVAC, and lighting. 

The Energy Efficiency Investment Survey 2022 comes in the wake of a recent UN report calling for concerted action from countries to cut greenhouse emissions at a faster rate. India announced its commitments to fight climate change at the Glasgow COP26 conference last year, pledging to cut its emissions to net-zero by 2070 while targeting to meet 50% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030. In alignment with this, one of the key findings of the survey reveals that Indian industries are increasing investments in energy efficiency in the next five years, as the crucial race towards Net Zero intensifies. 

“The results show that a large percentage of companies are confident of investing in energy-efficient technologies, setting India on the right track to fulfill its ‘Panchamrit’ promise around the five key commitments to fight climate change. This is excellent news for our environment, people, and industries. We are committed to making this a reality for our customers and partners in India and will continue to accelerate decarbonization by developing smart, energy-efficient solutions tailored to specific customer needs,” said Sanjeev Arora, President, Motion Business Area, ABB India.

More key findings from India: 

•  63% plan to achieve their respective Net Zero targets within 5 years 
• 90% say rising energy costs are at least a minor threat to their profitability, highlighting the need for energy efficiency 
•  Approximately 23% of annual operating costs are attributable to energy usage
•  Major driving factors for energy efficiency investment were cost savings, corporate sustainability commitments, and increased competitiveness 
•  Just under a third plan to make energy efficiency improvements this year (32%), with a further 61% planning to make them within the next 2 to 3 years 
• Production was the priority area of investment for half of those investing or planning to invest, in making their energy usage more efficient
•   72% are upgrading equipment to best-in-class energy efficiency ratings to be more energy efficiency to increase over the next 5 years.